Rather than CPU, or central processing unit, AMD these days uses the term APU, or accelerated processing unit, meaning that a CPU and discrete-level GPU are combined.

Named the A4, A6, A8, and A10, these new laptop processors claim to double the performance over the previous generation of AMD APU chips, and to offer up to 12 hours of battery life in laptops. They will be available in dual-core 17-watt and quad-core 25-watt and 35-watt versions.

The GPU part is based on AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series graphics cards, and supports DirectX 11. A dual graphics mode, when combined with a physically discrete graphics card, can boost power or save battery life as needed, similar to how Nvidia's Optimus technology combines discrete and integrated graphics.

AMD also works with software makers to create video and performance optimization plug-ins for Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 9, VLC Media Player, Photoshop CS6, and other apps, and the company is pushing its APU platform as great for video playback, editing, and encoding.